Bedcover supporting device



2' B. F. D. ALLEN BED COVER SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed March 27, 1941 1 I 3nventor I) FD 4am M W f (Ittom Patented Nov. 3, 1942 TED STATES PAT'EN T or FJIC-E EnoovEa soigronrnvo. DEVICE Benjamin "D. Allen, Lexington, Ky Application March 27, 1941, Serial No. 385,541

2 Claims. (Cl. -319) This inventionrelates to improvements in supporting devices,it=being especially adapted to the tsupport of;accover or zcovers upon a, bed. Asjis brought out indetail below, said deviceis espe- ,cially oontrived tospace the covering at the required distance above themattress, so .as tov afiord the person reclining upon themattress the advantage of the coveringryet defending him from the weight "thereof. The .latter is an important consideration in cases where persons are sufiering. from rheumatic brother painful afflictions. The necessity for warmth derived from the covering is obvious, but if the full weight is imposed upon the sufferer the latter will be subjected to considerable distress. ise in mind the objects of the invention are as follows:

First, to provide a device for supporting one or more bed covers above an ill person in such a manner as to avoid irritating and distressing said person by an unbearable weight of covering.

Second, to provide a device of the nature stated, comprising parts so contrived as to readily enable the application of the device to any ordi- I nary type of bed frame.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bed illustrating the application of the cover supporting device.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the foot of the bed.

Figure 3 is adetail side elevation of the foot portion of the bed, showing the device on a larger scale than in Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a detail elevational and sectional view of a modified form of the adjusting link support.

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

The bed I is to be regarded as of any ordinary type. Being such it comprises the head 2, foot 3, longitudinal bed rails 4, mattress 5 and mattress support 6. The purposeof the invention, as outlined above, is to sustain the covering 1 in properly spaced relationship to the mattress 5 and to a person reclining upon the mattress with his head on the pillow 8.

The supporting device is commonly designated 9. Actually two of the devices are used as shown in Fig. l, the distinction of the device 9a adjacent to the head 2 from the device 9 adjacent to the foot 3, being that with respect to the former, the top end I0 of the cover I is swung With this premfree whereas with respect to .the latter the bottom end II (Fig. 3) is clamped down. The latter function is accomplished by a clamping rod I2 (Fig. 4) which has a threaded stem I 3, at each of its ends, to occupy the slot 54 ofan upright adjusting link l5.

Said link has a threaded bore lifi at its bottom end in which a stud I1 is screwed. At its top end the link I5 has asmooth bore I8 in which the 0.

,serted. Some adjustment of'the supporting rod contiguous end.I9 ofa U-supporting rod 20 is in- 20 with respect to the link I5 is accomplished by means of a thumb screw 2|. This screw is threaded through the link I5 and into the bore I8 so that it can bear against the end I9 and hold the latter at various elevations.

' Further adjustment is accomplishedby turning the link I5 in respect to the stud H, or vice versa, the former procedure being less likely of adoption because of the necessity of removing the supporting rod 20. It is more likely that the adjustment of the stud I! with respect to the link I5 will be made prior to attaching the stud to the bed rail 4. e To this end the stud carries a clamp 22 consisting of a yoke 23 and a thumb screw 24. After impressing the yoke upon the bed rail the thumb screw is tightened so as to secure the entire assemblage above it.

As plainly shown in Fig. 2 the assemblage described in detail with respect to Fig. 4 isduplicated on each side of the bed. Such adjustments as are made on one side are necessarily made on the other as well, thus to hold the device 9 in an approximately level position. Having set the link I5 and cover supporting rod 20, the cover I is thrown over said rod and its bottom end II brought under the clamping rod I2. The latter is then forced down against the mattress 5 and set in position with wing nuts 25 on the ends of the stems I3, thereby securing the bottom end II firmly in place.

The top end It) (Fig. l) is merely thrown over the supporting rod 20 at the head end of the bed, it obviously being inexpedient to employ the equivalent of the clamping rod I2. The latter is simply left out of the support 9a at the head of the bed.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a modification which is useful for some types of beds. of the clamp 22a (Fig. 6)with the clamp 22 (Fig. 4) will be recognized. The same screw stud Ila, yoke 23a and thumb screw 24a are employed. The clamp 22a; is turned from the position in Fig. 4 so that the stud I'Ia extends out horizontally instead of vertically. A supplemental The identity stud 26 is used as an intermediary between the stud Ila and the bore I60 of the link la. Said supplemental stud has a boss 21 with a threaded bore into which the stud Ila is screwed.

It is readily observed that this arrangement adapts the supporting device either to a narrower bed than the one for which the specific U-supporting rod 283 in Fig. 4 is designed or pro- 'vides for stationing the link l5, I5a, out farther from the bed rails so as to afford more room for the patient. In the latter instance it will be necessary to have a U-supporting rod 29 of a length sufficiently great between the ends 19 to span the increased distance between the link I5a.

In conclusion it is .desired to point out that the clamping rod l2 and the supporting rod 26 are desirably made adjustable. For'this purpose the respective rods are made telescopic at [2a and 20a, set screws I21) and 2% being used to set the adjustments. Inasmuch as the head support 9a would also have to be made adjustable, an identical telescopic arrangement as at 20a would be employed together with a set screw for holding the adjustments. In practice the telescopic adjustment can be held at any width from 34 inches to 58 inches, actual dimensions, however, being controlled by individual circumstances.

I claim:

1. Means for sustaining a covering above a mattress on a bed, said means comprising a U- supporting rod over which the covering is flung to hold the covering elevated adjacent to one of its ends, upright longitudinally slotted links to the upper ends of which the ends of the U-supporting rod are attached, the bottom end of each link having a thread course, a clamping rod adapted for super-imposition upon the covering end, having end threaded portions fitted in the linkslots and provided with screws to exercise a clamp action against the links, and clamping means on each link attachable to the frame portions of the bed, including a threaded member for screw engagement with said thread course.

2. Means for sustaining a covering above a mattress on a bed, said means comprising a U- supporting rod over which the covering is flung to hold the covering elevated adjacent to one of its ends, upright longitudinally slotted links to the upper ends of which the ends of the U-supporting rod are attached, the bottom end of each link having a thread course, a clamping rod adapted for super-imposition upon the covering end, hav- "ing end threaded portions fitted in the link-slots and provided with screws to exercise a clamp action against the links, and clamping means on each link attachable to the frame portions of the bed, consisting of a yoke having a clamp screw and a projecting threaded member, and a boss which is threaded to fit the threaded member, said boss in turn having a projecting threaded member to fit the thread course of the respective link.

BENJAMIN F. D. ALLEN. 

